Filenews 22 June 2023
The Independent Authority against Corruption is facing reluctance from Cypriots to investigate complaints against officials as Inspection Officers, according to a statement.
Therefore, as he says, he contacted organizations and bodies abroad, public or not, to find the right persons specialized in corruption issues, in order to investigate some cases and ended up with two persons working in London, George Cambanella and Tanveer Qureshi. The family of the former originates from Cyprus, but he was born and raised in England.
These two persons have already been assigned two cases by the Authority, while the assignment of other cases is planned in the near future. In the two cases already assigned to them, the team of Inspection Officers is completed by Cypriot lawyer George Liasidis.
The announcement states that under the legislation governing its operation, the Authority, for the purposes of investigating and evaluating complaints, may appoint as Inspection Officers, persons of recognized and specialized experience in the fields of examination and evaluation of information.
The Authority invited all persons interested in being included as Inspection Officers to show interest and to date more than 90 persons have submitted an application. However, in cases where complaints are directed against some officials, there was a reluctance for Cypriots to investigate them, he notes.
It is for this reason, it is added, that the Authority has contacted organizations and bodies abroad, public or not, to find the right persons with expertise in corruption issues, in order to investigate some cases.
As mentioned, the criteria for selection were that these persons have experience and ability to investigate corruption cases and have no connection with corruption cases investigated in Cyprus, nor with persons related to those cases.
In this regard, according to the announcement, the Authority contacted dozens of persons who met the above criteria in order to select the most suitable.
CNA
